Prof. Soyinka, Lumumba, others to headline Pan Africanism Conference

A two-day conference on Africa’s future, themed “Reimagining Africa’s Future: Challenges and Opportunities,” will take place in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria, from May 25 to May 27, 2024.

The event will feature Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka and Pan-African leader Patrice Lumumba and other notable personalities.

According to Dr. Effiong Joseph Udo, President of The Pan African Dialogue Institute (TPADI), in a press briefing monitored by Diaspora Digital Media, said the conference aims to bring together scholars, policymakers, and change-makers to discuss Africa’s most pressing issues and explore solutions for a brighter future.

“Pan-Africanism emerged as a response to the long history of colonization, enslavement, and systemic oppression and exploitation faced by African people across the globe,” Dr. Udo said. “We seek to promote African values of community, hospitality, respect for human and environmental dignity, unity in diversity, love, and solidarity with all, as encapsulated in the Ubuntu philosophy.”

The conference will feature keynote speaker Prof. P.L.O Lumumba, as well as plenary speakers Prof. Mutombo Nkulu-N’Sengha (DR Congo/USA), Prof. Mary Nyangweso (Kenya/USA), and others.

Dr. Udo emphasized the importance of African-led solutions, saying, “While dialogue and debate in Africa will not always generate consensus, it will at least be dialogue among Africans about possible resolutions to their problems. It holds out the belief that if ideas are not designed by the Africans themselves, it will rarely be in the interests of Africans.”

The event will also celebrate the 2024 International Africa Day on May 25, marking the anniversary of the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. “Many Nigerians are not aware that May 25 is International Africa Day, and many African countries, including Nigeria, do not even remember to mark it. But TPADI makes it possible for Nigeria to celebrate Africa Day for the first time ever,” Dr. Udo noted.

The conference will feature dignitaries from Nigeria and abroad, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President of The Gambia, Fatoumata Jallow Tambajang, and Vice President of Colombia, Francia Marguez.

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